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Being Outside in January: How Braving the Cold has Benefited our Family
Each year, I dread winter. Especially January. I know what January holds: cold days, long nights, and little to be desired. Anxiety, which, for me, stems out of fear of illness and feeling trapped, simmers endlessly on the back-burner of my mind. My children, who are blessed with energy I will never have, seem to bounce off the walls; the same walls that seem to be closing in on me in the heart of winter. Traditionally, I suffer through the month, feeling a bit relieved when February comes around, even though it’s not much better. But this past January was entirely different. I have a pretty good idea as…
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Kids Need Nature and Other Take Aways from Last Child in the Woods
When I made the quick decision to homeschool Levi for preschool, I began doing what I do best: compulsive research. I looked into different homeschooling blogs, followed different homeschooling moms on Instagram, and began to understand a few of the various styles of homeschooling out there. One book that kept coming up in my research was Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Many homeschooling moms referred to it while explaining why they placed tremendous importance on having their child outdoors in nature. This was something I identified with. Two years ago, on a near-perfect autumn day, I took Levi to a local park. It…
